New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-09-06
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

a nrRnsEyE VIEW OF TUE WORLD: APoPulsr scisn;
zinc Descriptions Of the Great Naturai D,s.,sns nv
tns sIUpe "P RrCLus Transiated by NJ HOVE
with America rewritten and ENLARGED py roh Win
WonaIN Edited by CHARLES HOPKINS CLAhh' n1n
neriv four hundred illustrations 4tc' PIP wv
Boston: Tcsnor GO.
This large and handsome volume is in some sense
n condensation of the relatively exhaustive geo.
graphical series in course Of utilization at Paris
under the ediorship OF NJ Elisec Reelus the better
known and more distinguished brother OF the au
thor In birdseye view OF the world 1t 1olio"s
that only cursory glimpses can be had at one
principal countries and it scarcely requires TO DC
said uat the usefulness Of such digest Is no'
for purposes of thorough study but rather for inc
thousand-and-one passing incentives 70 I'M" =,
which arise continually. For the satisfacuoh u
sucb curiositv ms arises from the reading OF the
daily newspaper or the monthly magazine W.
pocI,s.s hook can be recommended. III he Is not
ne sonnd and trustworthy geographer "s his
brotber no has studied in the same schooi anu
fo,loyvoa tho same methods In an EXAMINATION
of the volume not pretending to be thorough we
bovo detected only few errors, ana tnose mole
of opinion than fact. When the authors ioei-
inrs as q Frenchman do not tend TO dehect hs
judgmcnt he appears to be reliable. IL couiu
hardly be expected that he should be entlrely lar
,o Germany. but he is quite moderate in the eX-
pression of his disapproval. In his remarks on
EncI,nd he i. less careful and is guilty of an as
sertion so curious that it ought not to nave oeeh
,ut f,rward without reference The statement
is this: at is the expatriaton of the poor by
thousands and by millions that has alone saved
the nation from riots and civil wars. lhat 10
a very wild and extravagant kind OF oDserVauoh'
and certainly calculated to mislead any reader
not preparcd by previous historical study to gauge
tho accuracy of it, In the article on India we
find this strange statement: The English, the
larger TART of whom come from Scotland rather
than from England and Ireland, number only
$4,000. including the army" There are mere Vwo
mistakes In tie first place the assertion as "
the relative numbers Of Scotch and English Is In
correct, there being but about 5000 of the for
mer to $4,000 of the latter returned under the
ccnsus of 1881. In the second place sterling
English authority, 1.-The Statesmans Yearbook,
states that the Brtish-born population of India,
exclusive of the army. amounted in 1881 TO eo'-
1852 AS the British army is about $4,000 strong
that number would mark the extent of NJ. Recluss
error In his brief remarks on the Indian feuda-
tory States he seems to wish to infer that but
two of them and those by means the strong
est in fact, are of any present importance. This
is not Just view of the situation, but for the
general reader perhaps the matter Is OF little
consequence.
Notwithstanding few careless and inaccurate
statements, the absence Of which bleInlshes from
q work of such compass would, indeed, be almost
miraculous the Brdseye View Of the Worid
u.s. as a whoh, well and conscientously collateo'
The text is sprghtly and interesting the lniof-
nation is conveyed attractvcly, and the aridl-
ties of statistical record are refreshed and en-
hvened 10y historical anecdotes, sketches oil seen
cry and chronological considerations. Such
book would be nothing without illustrations, ana
they are therefore abund INT. All the original
French ores have been reproduced, and several
new America ones have been added to the Amerl-
can articles. OF these illustrations the majority
are good, and some Of them are excellent
few, however, are in the rough, loose sketchy
manner which DoIe introduced, and which even
his fertility of fancy and 1eXibility of pencil
could not always redeem from just condemnation.
As q rule. much Judgment has been shown in the
choice of the subjects They do really illustrate
the various countries and their inhabitants: by
no means invariably the case in books of the
kind In brief q great deal Of hard work, pains
taking and skill have gone to the preparation OF
this volume, which is no catchrenny concern pre-
scnting huddIed mass of pitchforked facts to
the innocent reader under the pretenoc of ency-
copedic information, but what il processes TO
lie, namely short view of all the counties and
Peoples under the sun, so arranged and digested
that o great deal of useful and interesting knowl
edge is packed handiy in limited space. The
publishers have done their best for the mecfani
cal part of the work, and their enterprise leaves
nothing to be desired in that respect.
PROSE PAsTORAIS. By HERBERT MILTON SYLvEs-
TER. 12no. Pr. 292. Boston: Iicknor Co.
There is an attraction for all healthy minds,
and especially for such as nhabit city-bound
bodies in the literature of the country, and all
books which deal intelligently with out-of-door
life, with the flora and fauna. with observation of
the seasons have been relished heartily and
given an enduring place in the popular affections
Truth to say this class of books has never equalled
the demand. and even to-day it would be no diff
cult matter to catalogue them, or AZ least all OF
them that have come 10 any celebrity. MIR. Syl-
vestcr has therefore struck into promising path,
and while his work wants polish and a certain
rOundness and his sentiment at times strikes Us
as q little artificial and hard, the root OF the
matter is IN him, and he has observed and medi-
tated TO some purpose, His volume is unambi-
tious and disconnected. 1t is string OF pict-
ures of country life, annotated genially ard
with a SAVIOR of homcspun philosophy. lie takes
his reader who was born in the country back TO
tic om HolcStdl, anu through tiie WcQiS
meadows and TO the trout-stream and the sugar
camp and all the set occasions and seasonable
obscrvanccs of rural life. 1t is done very pleas
antly, too, and animated with dscursvc notes
upon the dwcllers of the woods and meads, the
birds and the insects and the four-footed folk
that inhabit tire. and swarl AMI stream bank
Leaves these desultory sketches arc. from the old
home notebook which thousands carry in their
and
lcctions will be awakened by them. We gather
from the preface that this is the authors first
appearance before the larger public. The vol
ume itself bcars evidence TO the fact indeed, but
In no such way as to discourage further expert
ment in the direction. The mantle OF
Ihorcau has not descended upon Mr.. Sylvester,
nor even that of Burroughs; but he is an enthu-
siastic disciple OF the same cult, and he has the
right combination Of poetic Imagination and
trained observing powers. His defect at
present is that of q poor-wc cannot say bad